Plugged In

Nintendo reveals extensive Wii U game lineup

While Microsoft cast a wide net at its E3 press conference Monday, covering entertainment and gaming options, Nintendo came to talk games — and nothing else.

As part of its ongoing rollout of the new Wii U system, the company showcased a variety of first party titles and gave a peek at some of the third party titles in the works for the system. It did not, however, give a launch date or price for the system, which is expected to be available later this year.

Leading the charge, as usual, was Mario. "New Super Mario Bros U" will be one of the Wii U's flagship titles, with social aspects including in-game chat.

"You can probably expect one of your buddies is going to be bragging about his high score — that's probably going to be me," joked Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America.

The company also showed a new "Pikmin" game it has been teasing fans with for the past two years, prompting an emotional reaction among the fan-packed audience in the Nokia Theater — with at least one person breaking into tears upon seeing the game.

Launching day and date with the Wii U will be a new collection of minigames called "Nintendo Land," which will bring in elements from all of the company's greatest hits.

Although Nintendo showcased a strong lineup of first-party titles, third-party support was a bit softer. Warner Brothers demoed the year old "Batman: Arkham City, which has revised its controls for the Wii U. And in a reel of other third party games, there were several titles already available for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 shown.

While Nintendo kept the focus on software, it did answer one question that was left lingering after Sunday's online presentation focusing on Wii U hardware: The system will support two of the Wii U gamepads, letting more than one person enjoy the tablet-like controller at a time.

Nintendo also assured people that the system will do more than just play games, with entertainment options that will keep it competitive with Sony and Microsoft's consoles.

"At its core, Wii U does three different things," said Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo of America. "It changes your gaming. It changes how you interact with your gaming friends. And it changes the way you enjoy your TV. … It stands to revolutionize your living room. … And in the near future, we will show how it will integrate and elevate your living room entertainment."

The company did tease several entertainment partners, including Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Video and YouTube, promising a "truly unique" way to view and interact with that content.